Al Upton and the miniLegends

(post 3 of 7) education.au seminar 4th August 2006, Sydney 
(main post + links to speakers)

Speaker – Phillip Adams- broadcaster, writer and film-makers, presenter of ABC Radio National’s Late Night Live.

How can a media and communications rich world make a difference in building a better education system?

The Podcast

the exact time before George Bush leaves office is … This one simple device demonstrates the role technology has in social change. Phillip Adams suggests that there is nothing new he can tell us!!! but will share anecdotes

Two films were being shown at opposite walls
Japanese doc – eg pottery wheel being shown
Montreal film – steering wheel
The kids there effortlessly scanned both screens and made connections (as per example above) … and many more images/tasks/connections at one time
“write what you did in the holidays”  !!!
I did an experiment “Write a film script about someone parachuting …” The kids had absorbed how to do this already didn’t need to be taught
I’m somewhere between a technophobe and a technolgy determinist
Before John Howard closed down
“Data isn’t information, information isn’t knowledge and knowledge isn’t wisdom”
google to find source of this quote
Never before has so much dat been available but it’s useless unless we do something with it.
PA – I like ti think of it more as, the “Future is not a straight line across the Nullabor, think of it more as a shunting yard”
After this will be attending Gana (sp) festival – 15-20 different language groups, greatest didge players (that’s where they came from – Cape Yorke), and a lot of amplified electronic energy. The kids up there have somehow managed to merge these cultures.
There is also a vast cultural tragedy up there. I was sitting with an 85 y.o (very old for aboriginals up there) painting kangaroo men reminiscent of Ancient Egyptian art – through interpreters he said yes he had seen these just the other day – he lived in a world that crossed generations.  His granddaughter was nearby on the internet exploring an ‘X Files’ inter-celestial environment. She managed to exist between both these world.
His friend says he has two different parts of his brain, one for science, one for metaphysical.
It happens in society – religious dogmatism, avant guarde democracy
George Bush – 901 days 1 hour 1 minute 43 secs before he goes
One of lifes Great Paradoxes, people who know nothing about the world are driving it
eg Stem cell research in any ed institution will receive no funding – despite 77% of the US people being against this
Conflict between technology and the human brain
It’s not simply weaons, it’s information.
Media – ABC Rupert keeps me on because I demonstrate pluralism – you need to have at least one lefty, even if he hates every word I utter
Mass media – no matter how greedy the 5 or 6 giant coporations are, information is slipping out of their control
People are going to blogs etc (the unmediated world – the infinite promise of this world, the cheapness of it) There is a downside …
Increasing narrowmindedness and ‘madness’ of these authors
Not wanting to know has changed to wanting to know everything, to be an expert or being acknowledged as connected to this world
The biggest download is ‘porn’ the other thing is ‘hatred’ amd ‘conspiracy theories’ (the fear that someone inside is doing)
What has this got to do with education a lot, the promise of technology – television was going to be educational
Some shows = trying to convince someone a dog turd is a chocolate eclair (source)
It is said kids are media savvy - I don’t believe it, they are swept up with the culture
Terrible aranoia – eg teachers can’t pick up kids when they fall down and hurrt themselves
YET we send them into the commercial/media world
Kids will get caught up in a vortex of misinformation. The kids are getting bombarded – it causes stress, many ‘disorders’ are caused by the overload of data ../.  that is not knowldege and certainly is not wisdom.

Questions and Answers with Phillip Adams – a controversial broadcaster, writer and film-maker. As presenter of Late Night Live, he has interviewed thousands and can boast to be ABC Radio National’s largest driver of demand for podcast downloads (50,000 downloads for May 2006).

I had a slight loss of data attack – thanks to Brett Moller for this
http://blog.brettmoller.com/ 1) Children needing to be taught that there is a danger of being too open and not selective to information that is bombarding them. – hmm does this lead to censorship!?!?!?2) Question 2 has come to this issue of censorship. Education being forced to censor information. Answer… Censorship being counter productive? Interesting concept… As soon as we censor something the popularity increases. A suggestion that we develop value systems in students that create wise students.3) Web 2.0 offering collaboration is creating a greater world for education. The point here though is that the threats that come with these technologies and the apparent great promises come with more ways that those who have alteria motives can access the minds of our students. Once again educators have the obligation to develop the minds of students to become discerning.